Introduction to Sidebars & Widgets
Latest update: February 4, 2019 | Reading time: 2 to 3 minutesSidebars
A sidebar ( or widgetized area ) is a section where we can add special purpose content elements that are named widgets. You can configure any front end single or archive view to display a sidebar area to the left/right of the editor content ( for single views ) or the post listings ( for archive views ).
In addition, sidebars are also used in the footer area. Visit Theme Options > Footer > Widgetized Areas to review the configuration for the footer sidebars. You have the ability to configure one or two rows of widgetized areas, with lots of options regarding the columns layout and many more.
The theme is delivered with a lot of predefined sidebars. Nevertheless, you have the option to create additional sidebars under Theme Options > Advanced > Sidebars screen.
Widgets
Since you have configured your sidebar displays, it is time to fill them with widgets, depending on each sidebar’s scope. You can assign widgets to sidebars by visiting the Appearance > Widgets screen. The process is quite straightforward; on the left side you can see all the available widgets, while on the right side you can see all the available sidebars ( widgetized areas ). You can drag and drop a widget to the sidebar of your preference and start working with the widget options. Each sidebar widget will be visible on the front end on the position where the sidebar is configured to be displayed.
You can use a number of available widgets, including the ones that WordPress provides as well as special ones bundled by Plethora Themes. We have created widgets that take advantage of the theme’s features, allowing for displaying information in multiple ways.